Belle the therapy dog treats Yeovil Hospital wards to a visit
She even helped brush the floors with her fluffy tail
Yeovil District Hospital has welcomed a group of therapy dogs back to its wards for the first time in two years.
The furry little friends have been trained up by the national charitable organisation, Pets As Therapy, to help thousands of people, not only in hospitals, but also in care homes, hospices and schools.
Three dogs called Buddy, Belle and Pendragon visit Yeovil Hospital regularly – they have to go through checks and training with Pets As Therapy, and the owner goes through the NHS trust volunteer recruitment process, so that they are able to safely visit patients and staff on the wards.
Sarah Cherry, our health and wellbeing and volunteer's manager, who organises the visits said a massive thankyou to staff in the trust’s volunteers' team, who have been incredibly supportive in getting these sessions back up and running.
“Having our therapy dogs back at the hospital has been such a fantastic morale booster for both our patients and staff,” she said. “It has been a difficult couple of years, and we have only just been able to start this back up again.
“The dogs bring so much joy and it has been fantastic to see the difference it has made with some of our patients – their faces light up when the dog walks on to the ward. “It’s so rewarding, and we are grateful to Gale, Chantelle and Jim for bringing their beloved dogs in to the hospital.”
Last Friday (21 October), Belle was with her owner on Ward 7A and 7B at the hospital to poke her nose in, help brush the floor with her tail, and offer reassuring nuzzles to patients and staff alike.
If a patient wishes to give the dogs a pet or even cuddle, the ward staff provide a separate towel on each bed so the dog can lay down comfortably and can be stroked with less strain.
Belle the therapy dog offering comfort to a patient
Unfortunately for Pendragon, as a Great Dane, he can only fit his head to rest on the bed while the patients stroke him!
Sarah continued: “As the year draws to a close, we look forward to seeing more of our furry friends pattering around the hospital with their wagging tails".